Written by: Ping Tsai
Edited by: Hyoree Kim
Before resolutions could be debated upon, delegates must lobby with one another: a stage that requires delegates to diplomatically reach out to and negotiate with other delegates.
During lobbying, delegates merge their carefully-crafted clauses with those of other delegates. Yet, not all delegates would share the same stance on their interested issues. For example, Aidan Michaud’s (Delegate of Ecuador, GA6, Jakarta Intercultural School) bloc saw a number of delegates who eagerly expounded on the significance of their clauses, which conflicted with one another. Nevertheless, his bloc was “successful in its endeavor” to tackle the question of the long-lasting conflict regarding Diaoyutai Islands. Michaud also communicated his ambitions to be the leader of his committee’s debate, as he “wanted to become the main submitter” for his lobbying bloc. Seeing other delegates who are equally zealous about the committee issues, Michaud feels pumped to proceed to debate.
Ellen Ryoo (Delegate of Qatar, GA3, International Bilingual School in Hsinchu) remarked about HRC delegates’ intense passion for MUN, as many of them sought after the leadership position of their lobbying groups: “There was a group with two delegates who both want the main submitter position very badly, and the chairs had to come over to stop them from ‘fighting.’” Having witnessed how much the delegates of HRC coveted the main submitter position, an act that showcased delegates’ passion for debating, Ryoo looks forward to listening to novel ideas generated by those heated discussions.
Building onto Ryoo’s point about the love for debating THIMUN delegates share, Brandon Hsu (Delegate of Cambodia, GA1, Pacific American School) expressed that he was expecting delegates to be “peacefully discussing different issues” during lobbying. However, he realized that for a group to put together a highly debatable resolution, it wouldn’t be surprising if “delegates are having a major disagreement” over what aspect of the issue should their resolution aim to solve and how the issue should be resolved.
Transitioning from lobbying to debating, delegates of THIMUN Singapore await their resolutions to be passed with an overwhelming majority.